Dominant pitching limited Charleston RiverDogs hitters to two hits in their 3-1 loss to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in front of 5,007 fans on Friday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
Kannapolis broke through in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs after loading the bases. Alexander Albertus brought home a run on a groundout, and Adrian Gil drew a bases-loaded walk to push them ahead 2-0.
The Cannon Ballers added another run in the fifth when Matthew Boughton lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Abraham Nunez to make it 3-0.
Charleston brought home its only run of the evening when Victor Mesa Jr. lined an RBI single to center, capping scoring at 3-1.
Cannon Ballers starter Truman Pauley was dominant, fanning ten RiverDogs hitters across 4.2 innings. Left hander Jackson Nove followed with 3.1 hitless innings of his own.
With the loss, Charleston fell to 21-16 while Kannapolis moved to 17-20. The two return to the ballpark tomorrow for game five of the series with first pitch slated for 6:05 p.m. Coverage begins at 5:50 on the RiverDogs Broadcast Network.
Ballpark Fun:
Friday night at The Joe was about more than baseball. For Mental Health Awareness Night, the concourse was filled with tables sharing resources, support, and reminders that no one has to go through hard times alone.
Green ribbons for mental health awareness and red shirts for Red Shirt Friday filled the stands as a sold-out crowd packed the ballpark, and nobody left early. Fireworks Friday closed out the night with an awesome postgame show, uplifting music that fit the theme perfectly, and a crowd that stayed until the very end.
Straight from the Director of Fun, Billy Murray himself, The Joe will turn into a Jurassic dance party during one break each night. This evening, the ballpark exploded with energy as fans across the stands showed off their dino dance moves.